In respect to my father My father, Sherman L. Wiehe, taught my sister and I how to work and learn common sense
values quickly in life. That hard headed German never let a day go by without
putting in a full day, whether it be working at his full time position at General Motors
as a maintenance welder or maintaining his rental properties, welding, farming, mechanic,
donating his labor, time and materials in building many baseball diamond backstops for the
communities near our home in Kansas City, KS.

One of his popular phrases that stays with me even to this day is, "It
isn't what you
make but it's what you save after you make it". It's definitely a rule that I
follow to this day.

The most exciting parts of my years at home were our hunting trips to western Kansas.
Dad "always the best shot" and his dogs "the best in the
country" were a threat to any pheasant or quail group in a 3-mile radius.

Most of all, I'm thankful I learned to play the piano very well because Dad didn't allow
any BS when it came to that 1-hour a day practice period each day. I learned that a
cottonwood tree stick can make practice easy and Dad met business when
it come to practicing at the piano. I don't regret his ways for
piano has brought me lots of excitement and happiness in my life.

With the fact I learn to weld, farm, and maintain Dad's property, I took a liking to
electronics. My hard work in technical training allowed me to land a job at
Kwajalein in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Here I was able
to follow the work ethics I learned at home and excel with my piano
skills to entertain the island. Thanks, Dad! Love always, your
son, Shermie.

Eileen (Keating) OakleyJune 23, 1932

In respect to my
mother
My mother, Eileen Keating
Oakley, gave my sister and I all the love she could through the years despite
her separation from Dad. She was always there to see us on our
birthdays and each Christmas. When we were old enough to know,
Sandra and I were always ready for her arrival. She never missed a
visit and I always enjoyed playing piano for her. I always felt
good that I could show her my improvement playing piano and Dad was
really happy about it too. It was a nice feeling through the
years.

Through our many years of growing up, Sandra and I learned that
differences between people cannot take away the natural bond of our
parents. Sandra and I both have learned to survive and learn the
best from all our experiences. We always felt your love through
the years along with Dad's drive for us to survive. The love of
parents always endures.

Although your visits with us were short and the Christmas and
birthday presents
enlighten us each year, you were always there to see us and along with
your moral support, even to this day. Love always, your son, Shermie.

Shermie shown standing on the front of an AC Model-B tractor
blocking his
father's view. This photo taken in 1977 while on vacation from Kwajalein.
Shermie took all his annual vacations from Kwaj to Kansas to visit family.

Wiehe Coat of Arms

The Wiehe Coat of Arms hereby illustrated is officially documented in
BURKE's General Armory. The original description of the arms
(SHIELD) is as follows:

"AR. three Bendlets
Sinister GU. from the one in Chief A Lion issuant of the last, Langued
AZ."

When translated the Blazon also describes the original colors of the
Wiehe Arms as:

"Silver:
three narrow red right diagonal bends: from the one in the top a red
lion issuing, tongued blue."

The shield and
helmet is the crest which is described as: "A short red column
issuing from it a plume of three naturally colored peacock's feathers,
all between two red wings, "Wiehe Coat of Arms"

William H. Wiehe
The first Wiehe of my family to America

Caroline (Carlena) Marie Stagemiller
William's faithful wife

Wieheis a place name, the name of a village in Germany in the north of
Thuringia, one of the oldest villages in the valley of the River Unstrut.
It is west of Leipzig, between Erfurt and Halle. The first mention of the
town (spelled “Wihe”) was in the Braviarium Tulli, the register of
property of the monastery Hersfeld, in the year 786. The original castle in
the center of the town may already have been there in Franconian times, as
early as 300 A.D.

In 998, Wiehe was named “Reichsburg.”
After Wiehe had changed hands several times, it got into the family of
Werthern’s hands in 1461. In 1394, the privilege of holding a market and
the freedom of the city were conferred on Wiehe. There was a city-wall
around Wiehe in the Middle Ages -- you can still see some vestiges (of it)
today. Life in the town was characterized by agriculture and trade. In
1659, a big fire destroyed the town and the castle. Today’s castle was
built in 1666, and the family of Werthern owned it until 1945. From 1945 to
1990, the castle was used as a school. (The castle was for sale in 1994).
There are many shops and small businesses in Wiehe, (and) we are proud of an
honorary citizen who was born in Wiehe -- Leopold von Ranke. (In 1995) we
will celebrate his 200th birthday.

This picture brings back
memories! Sandra and I always loved going to visit our Uncle Carl and Aunt Lola.
Sandy was very close to Lola and she was very fond of her also. As for me,
visiting Wilbur, the youngest of Carl and Lola's four sons, was my biggest thrill during
each visit. We also seem to get active around the farm, either going down to the
milk house, riding the horse, swimming, shooting rats, milking the cows, or just plain
doing what boys do best, raise hell. Carl and my father Sherman were
usually discussing
local farm news, talking about old times, or just sitting around enjoying each other's
company by sharing some of that good cooked food that Lola always had prepared. There
wasn't a time we didn't see several homemade pies or goodies in Lola's
home during our visits and we never left hungry.

The family get visits at July 4th and Thanksgiving were the good
memories. Sonny, Robert (Bob), Kenny and Wilbur were always happy
to see the Sherman Wiehe family arrive. Sandra and I miss Carl and
Lola very much.

Sandra still keeps her hand in the farm business as she makes and sells
her products at the City Market in Kansas City, Missouri. She's
been selling at the market since our teenage years. We both spent
many years selling vegetables at 59th street and Parallel in Kansas
City, KS and at our home. Many Saturdays we loaded up the truck
with sweet corn, tomatoes, and beans and traveled to the Kansas City,
Missouri City Market at 5 AM for an 8-hour
fun day at the market. Although we live far apart now days, we still maintain a
close family relationship. She's been my best buddy in life. She's the best!
Love always to my sister, Sandra.

Birthday, October 29, 1971 - age 87

May God Bless Mrs. Krallman Always -
The picture at left is a special person to my sister Sandra and I.
She (Mrs. Callwell, as we called her) raised us for many years of our younger life. She was
responsible for us in learning to read and understand the bible, taught
us how to study, memorize and listen. We enjoyed our evenings with
her listening to stories, playing us the harmonica and eating some of her good cooking.

She was also responsible for keeping me practicing at the piano each
evening when Dad was not around. There was no way getting out of
that where her around. I
still remember her favorite songs she use to like me to play for her.
If Sandra and I were really good, she would entertain us by singing to
us and playing her harmonica. She was very entertaining. She
suffered a lot with her leg ailments but manage to clean our home and
take care of us. She died when she was 94.

I use to write to her in the 70s from Kwajalein and visit with her on my
vacations back to Kansas City. I was very sad to hear she had died
why I was overseas. Mrs. Krallman well, like my piano teacher, Mrs.
Florence Gustafson, were special ladies to
me in my younger years of life.

Shermie & sister Sandra, Easter Sunday,
displaying their wheelsAs you can see, Sandra's back wheel took a
beaten from guess who.